Recent News

The publication of Jean-Jacques Thomas’ new book, Perec en Amérique (Bruxelles : Les Impressions Nouvelles, 2019), is announced for April 4, 2019, having already gone into pre-sale  in many bookstores in France and Europe. The book is presented on the web page of its European publisher and the introductory pages are available for consultation  at https://lesimpressionsnouvelles.com/catalogue/perec-en-amerique/ . 

Congratulations to RLL Associate Professor of French Christian Flaugh and Assistant Professor of Caribbean Literatures and Culture (Caifornia State University, Bakersfield) Lena Taub Robles, who recently published Marie-Vieux Chauvet’s Theatres: Thought, Form, and Performance of Revolt (Leiden/Boston: Brill) in Brill's  “Caribbean Series." It is an extremely well researched book that, among many relevant aspects of the analysis of this performing text, contributes to a detailed exploration of the many difficulties in producing an English-speaking adaptation of this Caribbean theater that is rooted in a different system of symbolic representation and a language rich in regional idiosyncrasies far from the vehicular simplicities of French and English. 

The Humanities Institute and the Melodia E. Jones Chair have completed the video production of the speeches by the participants in the recent Conference “Buffalo: Transatlantic Crossroads of a Critical  Insurrection / Carrefour transatlantique d’une insurrection critique”. Thank you to many of our graduate students who have contributed their time, skills and intellectual interests to this video production: Benoit Ngolo, Amelia Gayle, Maria Diaz, Valentina Ospina, under the supervision of Ashley Byczkowski, who also participated in the production of all the videos by preparing the titling of all the films. Thank you also to all the UB faculty members and administrators from the College of Arts and Sciences and the Departments of Romance Languages and Literatures, Visual Studies, English and Comparative Literature who chaired panels and introduced speakers. All produced films are now available on the web at:  https://vimeo.com/album/5785586.

Arguing that "We cannot choose who survives; the human struggle is for all or for none,” Sharonah Fredrick surprised the audience by ceding her seat on an imaginary spacecraft traveling to a new world during an enthusiastic debate at the eighth annual Life Raft Debate, held Tuesday February 12, 2019 in Capen Hall. Read the UB Now article.

The Department of Romance Literatures and Languages and the Melodia E. Jones Endowed Chair for Quebec Studies are proud to announce that the 6th Annual Big Buffalo Quebec Film Festival will be held this spring, April 10, 11, and 12, 2019.

Dijana Savija spent part of Winter Break 2019 serving as one of two interpreters with a team of UB Law School students and faculty member Nicole Hallett, as they provide volunteer legal services to women and children detained at the South Texas Family Residential Center, Dilley, Texas.  We congratulate Dijana on this assignment!